Will one of the Shire’s oldest and most iconic pubs get a $13m makeover that will significantly change the heritage look and feel of the venue and increase the space for poker machines?
This is the decision facing Byron councillors this week as they decide on a development application (DA) to undertake significant works at the Bangalow Hotel.
Built in 1940, the hotel is a classic example of mid-20th century pub design, featuring Art Moderne, Colonial Revival and Interwar Functionalist influences.
But the owners of the famous venue – the Mooney family – say major structural issues and the need to cater to contemporary tastes necessitate a significant upgrade of the venue.
Their DA, coming before Council this week, involves significantly less-dramatic changes than those originally proposed, and subsequently rejected, by Council staff.
However, it still proposes a major redevelopment of the venue.
This includes a significant demolition and redevelopment of the internal ground floor area, including removal of the old timber bar, several walls, bathrooms and part of the floor section.
Music out – poker machines in
An area in the western part of the venue, which not so long ago hosted live music and other community-focused events, will become a separated gaming room with 20 poker machines.
The rear decks and stairs additions are proposed to be removed and replaced with a new deck.
According to Council documents, the proposal involves an increase in gross floor area of 180m² and an increase in public areas of approximately 38m² including outdoor terraces, and areas for ordering food and drinks.
The total proposed floor space ratio (FSR) would be 0.24:1, significantly below the 1:1 FSR allowable under Byron’s Local Environment Plan (LEP), and there is no proposed change to the height of the building.
It is envisaged that the redeveloped pub will attract significantly more patrons, with a capacity of 974 people proposed.
To accommodate this growth, the total number of parking spaces at the hotel would be increased from 30 to 56.
Following completion of the refurbishment, it is anticipated that the hotel will employ eight people full-time and 12 people part-time and casual.
Council staff have recommended that the revised DA be approved, stating that it is ‘satisfactory having regard to the relevant environmental planning instruments and planning controls applicable to the site’.
‘The application appropriately addresses the relevant constraints applying to the site and is recommended for approval subject to the conditions attached to this report.’
Heritage loss
But there are many within the Bangalow community who do not agree.
In a stinging set of submissions in relation to the DA, dozens of residents have expressed concerns about a loss of heritage values, the increased size of the venue, and the construction of a separate gaming room.
‘Losing the heritage aspect of the building is the big issue for me because the pub is such a feature of the town,’ long-term local resident and artist Kirsten Chambers told The Echo last week.
‘The front bar, the ladies lounge out the back with the fireplace – it’s all art deco. It’s such a treasure that it’s all untouched. It would be such a shame to lose that.
‘They could still expand the pub while maintaining that heritage aspect.’
Another resident expressed concern about the new gaming area.
‘It’s astounding that the imagination is so limited that we must sacrifice a potentially useable and much-needed community venue space, which could be used to nurture and enhance our culture and community, and seek the lowest common moneymaking vision of pokies and gaming,’ said the resident, whose name had been redacted from their written submission.
‘We already have pokies at the Bangalow Bowling Club. Must we hand over this beautiful music/community venue space to yet more?’
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